Landscape Architecture in the News

How Green Is a Parking Lot? New Efforts to Test Infrastructure Engineering News-Record “A growing number of civil engineers, landscape architects, and urban planners are making a case for not just repairing but also for greening the structural underbelly we rely on to drink our water, cross our rivers, and park our cars.”

Finalists Emerge to Redesign National Mall SitesThe Washington Times04/09/2012 “One from New York-based landscape architect Diana Balmori calls for reshaping the landscape as a grassy bowl around an outdoor theater and adding a building with a garden roof to produce food for a restaurant below.”

Walk on the (Not-So) Wild Side NBC San Diego 04/09/12 “The American Society of Landscape Architects is offering four free walking tours throughout San Diego on April 26 at noon.”

Asheville Taking Bids on Craven St. Improvements for New Belgium The Asheville Citizen-Times04/09/2012 “In a press release this afternoon, the City of Asheville requested proposals from design professionals to design, permit, and provide construction management services for infrastructure improvements on Craven Street. North Carolina registered landscape architects and/or civil engineers are invited to submit proposals for the project on or before April 25.”

Walkabout Set in La MesaUT San Diego 04/06/12 “As part of Landscape Architecture Month, Michele Greenberg-McClung, recreation supervisor for the city of La Mesa, and Jon Wreschinsky, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, will lead a 45-minute to one-hour walk focused on one of La Mesa’s urban trails starting at noon on April 26.”

Rebuilding of Ocean County Storm Basins Under Way Asbury Park Press 04/09/2012 University of New Hampshire researchers described their findings back in January when the New Jersey chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects held its conference in Atlantic City.”

Festival of Flowers Brings Blooms to Asheville’s Biltmore EstateThe Asheville Citizen-Times04/09/2012 “Spring blooms will be in full effect starting Saturday at the Biltmore Estate’s annual Festival of Flowers…. The gardens around the Biltmore’s sprawling grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, known as the father of American landscape architecture, popular for his work on New York’s Central Park.”

UGA Students Helping to Preserve Black CemeterySavannah Morning News04/09/2012 “A University of Georgia landscape architecture class will try to help an Athens group preserve one of Athens's historic black cemeteries and make it into a kind of black heritage site.”

DDD Meeting Celebrates New Town Square The Advocate04/11/2012 “On Tuesday, the Downtown Development District held its meeting outside on a sunny April day to mark the completion of the first phase of the North Boulevard Town Square, the $7 million public park designers hope will be the social and cultural heart of Baton Rouge…. He said the square has been recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the International Downtown Association and is up for an award from the National Conference of Mayors.”

Curry Designated Fellow in Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 04/09/2012 “After more than 44 years of service to the college, Curry retired in spring 2011. During his tenure he was elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, and he was recipient of the Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal.”

Roofing: Strategic Advantages of Green Roofs on Campus Facilitymanagement.com04/09/2012 “The ability of a green roof to reduce high summer rooftop temperatures, absorb rain stormwater, and to improve the life cycle of the waterproof roofing itself has convinced institutions to accept a change to the sort of low-slope roofs that they had installed for decades…. On-campus expertise provided by students and faculty from the biology or landscape architecture departments could result in a rooftop biodiversity showpiece unique to the campus.”

DNR: No Fee, at Start, for Belle Isle Lansing State Journal04/09/2012 “Detroit's popular Belle Isle Park could end up having a cover charge under part of a state-supervised financial recovery plan.… It was laid out by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York's Central Park.”

Stormwater Solutions Hark Back to NatureCitizens Voice04/09/2012 “Runoff from the Butler Township Senior Citizens Center that opened last year goes into a detention basin that designer Krista Schneider, a landscape architect with Barry Isett Associates in Hazleton, said mimics a pond and wetlands.”

Sides Are Drawn on Old Lyme Park CareTheDay.com04/09/2012 “Residents disagree on use of pesticides on athletic fields.… At the University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture is slowly attempting to chip away popular science from real science.”

Urban Farm Project Receives Funds for ExpansionOregon Daily Emerald04/09/2012 “The University’s Urban Farm project—a program of the Landscape Architecture department and the Student Sustainability Center—received $42,000 last term from the ASUO Over-Realized Fund to help secure more land and resources to meet increasing student interest.”

Public Input Sought on Albemarle TrailDaily Progress04/10/2012 “Landscape architects and staffers from Albemarle County Parks and Recreation will host a design workshop for Old Mills Trail on Saturday. The county is asking for input from residents on possible design updates for the trail.”

Of interest: The Greenest Building May Actually Be a Neighborhood The Atlantic04/10/2012 “Making changes at a neighborhood level would include efforts like implementing complete streets, building green infrastructure, and even developing district heating and cooling.”